Optimal

At 0:12, cancel the pick-up animation by pressing B to jump. Then you should let go of Y as soon as possible so you won't perform a jump, and then repress Y fairly quickly to not perform a roll (Saves ~.15s).

You should buffer your jump to the hook near the end of your throwing animation.

Note that if the cannonball spawns closer to the middle, you won't need to cancel the pick-up animation since it would already be complete by the time you would need to throw.

Also note that if you get really bad luck, it's best to perform the safe strat of placing the cannonball on Kleever.

The optimal route will save ~4 seconds over the safe route. It involves the "Lava Fly" and is not recommended for new players. You can potentially lose a minute for only a 4 seconds save!

For the two final phases of this fight, try hitting Kleever as you pick the cannon ball up. You can take the hook section in many different ways to achieve this, so do whatever is most comfortable for you.

LAVA FLY TUTORIAL

Make sure you're as far left as you can be.

Begin your hover when Dixie is right above the peak of this mountain. You can also buffer your glide as soon as you start your jump to get the highest possible glide every time.

Press and hold B while holding down. Don't let go of down until you've jumped.

Notes

When landing on the ledge, you want to buffer your jump.

This works, because right before you land after jumping, you can "buffer" jumps.

If Dixie doesn't make it to the ledge and just hovers past, then your initial jump+hover with Dixie was bad.

If you make the jump, the trick is not over yet; you must have Kleever attack you in order for the hooks to spawn. Knowing the timing to lure Kleever just comes with practice!